Rollin' Nica Style Part 1

Our adventure during the impromptu vacation time the school gave us was spent exploring the beautiful country of Nicaragua. We began in the capital city, Managua, where we got a friendly cab driver, Pedro, to take us through the crowded city towards the quaint town of Granada. From there, we met up with our traveling buddies and co-teachers, Mike and Mavis. We spent a couple of days in Granada at a hospedaje. For $15 a night, it was perfect! I took a picture of the lobby as we entered because I found the two pieces of art quite interesting--Jesus and Che Guevara....The town was full of life and culture. And the sunsets over the cathedrals added beauty to its charm.


From Granada, we took a 4 hour ferry ride to the much-acclaimed, but rugged island of Ometepe. This island was made from two different volcanoes exploding from the sea and developing a shallow valley in between them. We stayed at another hospedaje, Buena Vista, and enjoyed being "lulled to sleep by the waves lapping up against the shore" (as the Lonely Planet guide says). The island sits beside Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake (it seems like an ocean) in the country. There are even fresh water sharks that dwell in these waters--although we didn't see any! (whew!) We hiked through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall, La Cascada San Ramon, and found an amazing place to delight in a bit of paradise on earth. And it found us in perfect time because we were swimming in our own sweat. We've become accustomed to the nice temperatures of Tegus, and so these hot and humid days revealed our wimpy sides. 




Of course, you can't be around all these volcanoes without hiking one, right? So....we did! One of the two is active. We of course hiked the active one. The one pictured is actually not on the island, but outside of Granada. It's called Masaya. When we got to the top, we were speechless. The smoke from the volcano could be seen the whole way up. And the damage the volcano has caused was eye-opening. The mouth was covered in smoke, black pumus, and a sandy type soil. Then, we took a tour in an underground cave (is that an oxymoron?) formed by the volcano, home to many bats. It was the only time I saw my friend Mavis look a little ruffled. But anyway, at this cave, we were told that many people from the past had used it--from wars to idol worship. One historical fact we learned was that when the Spaniards came to conquer, they would use the indigenous people to go down in the volcano to bring back the gold--because the rocks formed by the volcano glinted in the sun, giving the appearance of these precious metals. Of course, hundreds if not thousands of the natives died. So, sometime later, a cross was erected atop this volcano to remember the lost due to the Spaniards greed and ignorance.


(The green reveals that this volcano is inactive)


(The lack of green or maybe the smoke reveals that this volcano is quite active)

 
There's nothing like a little warning about man-eating snakes before you go on a hike.


Mike and Mavis cheezing it up for the camera--by the way, the whole meal cost the four of us a total of $14.


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When we returned from one of our day hikes, we found this incredible spring fed pool, Ojo de Agua. There, we swam, relaxed, ate banana chips and peanuts, and relished this small oasis. The picture reveals the aqua blue waters, which you can see to the very bottom without any problem. Colin is enjoying a refreshing dip.
We have more pictures coming...but this is an appetite-whetter I hope! We went further south from here (about 10 miles from Costa Rica--should have just jumped the border for a stamp the passport at least, but there's time for that I suppose) to the surfer beaches of San Juan del Sur. Our camera battery ran out (and I forgot the charger), so Mike will copy their pictures for me to share. We're back at home now, with a few more days of vacation to get our school work completed. It's nice to be back in our own bed...I'm getting soft in my old age. And it's nice to have only dogs to listen to at night, not roosters (those birds start practicing their "cock-a-doodle-doo" at one in the morning). Air conditioner rocks as well. So does having my own kitchen...but vacations are nice.

--Elisa (on Colin's account, since he had the wonderful patience to post all the pictures!)